Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Magnetation Plans Minnesota Iron Ore Processing Plant

Us firm, Magnetation Inc. says it has begun processing tailings from an old natural ore mine into iron ore concentrate on a commercial scale.

The company has developed equipment to retrieve hematite from waste rock. It started operating on a trial scale about a month ago at a former iron mine near Nashwauk (Nash'-wawk)in Minnesota.

The company says the plant is expected to produce about 250,000 metric tons of concentrate a year, and that output could be doubled.

Magnetation CEO Larry Lehtinen said the concentrate will be sold to another startup company, Mesabi Nugget.

Iron concentrate is the primary component of iron ore pellets, but it also can be used to produce slab steel or iron nuggets.

Source: Star Tribune, Minneapolis

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